Chapter 32
“Before we play another round, I’ve got to pee,” Oliver announces, grunting as he heaves himself off the floor.
“Go piss, girl,” Max and I say in unison.
Celeste rolls her eyes.
I take the opportunity to stretch my limbs, groaning as I do. “Celeste, are you sure you don’t want to play a round?”
Celeste snorts, barely looking up from her phone. “Yeah, I’m very sure.”
“Actually, I’m probably done playing myself,” Max declares. “There’s a mixer tonight for first- and second-year students at Spirit, so I should probably start getting ready.”
“Oh, shit, that’s tonight?” Celeste asks. “Jude, are you and Oliver coming?”
I scrunch my nose. The Spirit Lounge is a nearby 18+ club, primarily for those of us not yet old enough to drink.
It’s pretty tame, but it’s better than nothing.
Tonight, they’re hosting an event specifically for first- and second-year Eidola students.
“You can ask Oliver, but I think I’ll stay in tonight. ”
My phone vibrates against my thigh, so I curiously check it.
Megan C
Good morning, Lowe Ladies! Susan has asked that I initiate this group chat to prep for Thanksgiving this year!
I grimace. Lowe is Mom’s and Aunt Lisa’s maiden name, which is fine. It’s the ‘ladies’ part that annoys me. And how unnecessarily professional my sister-in-law is in all settings.
“What did I miss?” Oliver asks, plopping down at my feet again.
“Celeste and I are gonna go get ready for the Spirit Mixer tonight,” Max explains. “Would you like to come?”
Oliver glances up at me. “You interested?”
“Nah,” I answer.
“Me neither. Thanks for the invite though!”
Max grins. “Of course! Y’all stay out of trouble!” With that, he disappears down the hall and into his bedroom.
“I’ll see you later tonight, hon’,” Celeste says to me, then heads out the door.
As the door shuts behind Celeste, I nudge Oliver’s shoulder with my leg. “You can come sit up here, weirdo.”
“Ugh, fine,” Oliver grumbles. “But I think I’ve gotten better playing down here.”
“I highly doubt that.”
About halfway through a round, Oliver pauses the game. “Dude, what is up with your phone? It hasn’t stopped vibrating for like three entire minutes.”
I frown, pulling it out to check, then I groan.
“What?”
“Sorry, it’s my family. My sister-in-law added me to the group chat to discuss Thanksgiving dinner plans.”
“Oh yeah, I guess that’s coming up, isn’t it?” Oliver says, leaning back against the cushions. “Do you have to make food?”
“I guess I have to read to find out.”
Megan C
Susan and Bill are handling the turkey, and Lisa and David are bringing ham and drinks.
Brian and I are bringing green bean casserole and grilled asparagus.
Susan also mentioned that DEADNAME has a tasty pumpkin pie, and Taylor wants to make her famous mashed potatoes.
That leaves pretty much everything else! Who wants to bring what?
Steph B
Cody and I will bring mac-n-cheese and dinner rolls, because that’s all Brooke is really eating right now anyway
Ashlynn F
Austin and I will cover stuffing and cranberry sauce!
Taylor G
Danny and I can also make gravy to go with the potatoes, and anything else we might need
Megan C
Great! So, we have turkey, ham, green bean casserole and asparagus, mashed potatoes w/ gravy, mac-n-cheese, dinner rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
And drinks.
Anything else?
Steph B
DEADNAME, you wanna handle desserts? Maybe cookies in addition to the pie?
“Looks like I’m handling the dessert,” I say aloud, typing out a response.
“Nice!” Oliver replies. “You should make those snickerdoodle cookies again. Remember those? God, they were so good.”
I snicker. “Yeah, maybe.”
Jude C
yeah I can handle that
Taylor G
aww, hi DEADNAME! I heard you’re in college now?? ahh that makes me feel so old!!
Megan C
Let’s try to keep this chat Thanksgiving-specific, please.
Taylor G
my bad
Ashlynn F
So, by ‘drinks’, does that include wine and beer? Because I’m definitely going to need some special mommy juice.
Taylor G
way ahead of you Ash - I’ll talk to mom and if she’s not bringing wine, Danny and I will add that to our responsibilities
btw DEADNAME, are you 21 yet?
Jude C
sadly no lol
Taylor G
well, it’s a holiday, maybe we can make an exception
Steph B
Taylor, I think you forgot that I’m married to a cop lol
Taylor G
Cody’s cool though right? DEADNAME will be in a safe place surrounded by family!
Megan C
Again, let’s please keep this conversation related to Thanksgiving.
I close the chat and toss my phone across the couch. I can’t handle this conversation right now. It’s far too much.
“Everything okay?”
I rub my temples. “It’s going to be huge this year. My aunt’s family is also coming, which basically doubles the total number of people.”
“Yeah? So how many people are we talking about?”
“Let’s see…” I hold my fingers out to count.
“My parents, my siblings, their spouses and their kids—that’s eleven—then my aunt and uncle, their two kids, both their spouses, plus their kids makes another nine, so that’s twenty.
And then there’s me. So, yeah, twenty-one people.
Assuming the kids don’t bring friends or anything. ”
“Whoa,” Oliver remarks. “And no one’s your age at all, right?”
“Right. I’m in the gap between my thirteen-year-old niece and my youngest first cousin, who is a mom in her late twenties.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. Damn.”
Oliver takes a breath to speak, but then hesitates.
“What?”
“You probably don’t even remember this conversation, but during the Halloween Party—”
I cringe. “Oh, God.”
“You were talking about how holidays with your family suck, but then I suggested tagging along with you next time, and you thought that was a great idea.”
“Oh, absolutely not,” I say quickly. “I couldn’t put you through that. I dragged Celeste along last year, and she referenced Get Out several times.”
“Well, as you have pointed out to me in the past,” Oliver gestures to his lanky body. “I’m a white guy. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“They’re kind of awful people,” I continue. “Celeste and my stupid cop brother-in-law got into a heated argument, too.”
Oliver shrugs. “I don’t really bother arguing with people like that. It’s just a waste of energy.”
“You say that now, but just wait until they all start deadnaming me and talking about immigrants.”
I could swear I see Oliver’s eye twitch. “I could ignore that if you asked me to.”
“Also, everyone would immediately assume you’re my boyfriend,” I counter. “It would be a whole thing.”
Oliver drops my gaze. “Yeah, I guess that might make things awkward between us, especially now that you’re not with Nikki.”
Plus, I think that if Oliver pretended to be in love with me, it would break me. But he doesn’t need to know that. Instead, I smile. “It’ll be fine. It’s just one dinner. I’ll survive.”
A moment later, my phone starts buzzing again, but this time it’s even more incessant. As soon as I recognize the reason, I’m filled with dread. It’s a phone call.
Oliver leans over towards it and peers at the screen. “It says ‘Mom’.”
Fuck. With a growl, I scoop up my phone and jog to the kitchen. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, DEADNAME! Are you busy?”
My gaze lands on Oliver, watching on curiously, but I turn away. “Not really. What’s up?”
“Great! So, hear me out.”
Shit, a preface? I grip the counter and brace myself for whatever insane shit my mother is about to say that necessitates a preface.
“Your father and I are discussing whether to invite one more small family to Thanksgiving. They’re a couple from our Sunday School class, and they have a son who currently attends Georgia Tech. He’s very handsome and smart, and right around your age.”
Oh, god.
“We had lunch with them after church today. Your dad and I discussed it and thought you might enjoy having someone your age to talk to. And who knows, maybe you’ll become friends. Maybe even more?”
My nails dig into my palm. I can’t believe my parents are trying to set me up with someone who is essentially a stranger.
“However, your father thinks you might not appreciate our trying to play matchmaker for you, so I wanted to run it by you first.”
I shake my head emphatically. I cannot let this happen. “Um, actually—”
“All I ask is that you keep an open mind and give him a chance, even if it’s only as a friend.”
“Mom, I’m bringing someone.”
Mom gasps lightly. “You are?”
I swallow. “Yeah. I was going to tell you, but I’ve been busy with school and stuff.”
“Who is it?”
I glance back at Oliver, who is still watching me with those loving, protective eyes. For better or worse, I make an impulsive decision:
“My boyfriend.”
Oliver’s eyes go wide.
“Your…your boyfriend?” Mom echoes in disbelief. “Since when do you—”
“It’s a long story, Mom, but, yeah, I was going to invite him today. So, I think it could be uncomfortable if that other guy came. For him and for…for Oliver.”
“Oliver? Aww, that’s a lovely name. Of course, sweetheart, don’t even worry about it.” She sounds ecstatic. Of course she does. “Wow, I sure am glad I called you first instead of trying to surprise you!”
I bend forward, pressing my forehead against the cold countertop. “Yeah, me too.”
“To be fair, you should have told me you had a boyfriend! This is big news!”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a nervous chuckle. “I was working on it.”
“Well, I hope Oliver says yes! I’m very excited to meet him!”
“Mhm.”
Mom practically giggles. “Alright, well, I guess I’ll let you go then. Keep me posted about his answer, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Love you, DEADNAME!”
“Love you, too.”
I end the call and set my phone down on the counter, pressing my face back against the cool surface and letting out a long groan.